Cunego second as Italy goes 1-2; Breschel third for Denmark

Italian Alessandro Ballan became the new World champion thanks to a solo attack
from a select group in the closing stages of the 260.25km race. The 2007 Ronde
van Vlaanderen winner jumped clear inside the final three kilometres in the
streets of Varese to finish three seconds clear of the rest. His teammate Damiano
Cunego won the sprint for the silver medal and Denmark's Matti Breschel took
the bronze with third place.

The group from which Ballan had ultimately attacked was formed when Italian
team-mate Davide Rebellin attacked a larger selection on the final climb of
the Salita dei Ronchi with just over five kilometres to go. After a series of
attacks by the other riders, Ballan countered on the flatter section in the
streets of central Varese. He managed to use the same power that won him that
Ronde victory last year to good effect and quickly built up a gap over the pursuers.

With teammates Cunego and Rebellin blocking the chasers behind him, Ballan
was able to build a sufficient cushion to be able to sit up and celebrate his
victory. Cunego won the sprint for the silver medal and Denmark's Breschel took
with third place and bronze. Olympic silver medallist Rebellin came in fifth,
just ahead of Ukrainian Andriy Grivko.

"Definitely [a dream come true]," said Ballan after his victory.
"I did not expect this; I knew I was going strong, but to win the worlds is
always difficult. We all started the race for Paolo [Bettini], we ended up
three in that move."

With defending champion Bettini going for an unprecedented third victory in
succession  and having announced his intention to retire after the race
 the Italian plan was to work for him. "Last night we did not have
a second strategy," Ballan explained, "the plan was for Paolo and
it was never to be like this. He was going very well, but he had all of Spain
and the other nations [marking him]."

"I have to say thanks to Paolo," he added.

"I dedicate this to all my fans, all who believed in me, my father [who
died when he was a teenager -ed.], who was not here to see me," he said as he
kissed his wife Daniela and older daughter Stella. "I hope he can see me
from above. Also, to my baby who was recently born  her name is Azzurra
 born a month and a half ago."

"I would say that it is a great result [for me] and prestigious,"
said silver medallist Cunego afterwards. "I am happy for Ballan; like me,
he is one that is there from February to October. We were three [in the group]
and we had to make the race; we did well. It is great for all of Italy, and,
yes, I am happy for my place. There are still a lot of years ahead of me."

"It was too strong for me," said bronze medallist Breschel, who had
to fight against the combined forces of the Italians in the final group. "In
the finale it was too hard with Ballan, Cunego and Rebellin  all three
the strongest riders in the group. I had to take care of myself and I was hoping
to have a sprint, but it was not easy today."

"On the last lap everyone was attacking," he continued. "I
saw Ballan's attack, he went with a lot of speed. I did all I could... My teammate
Chris-Anker [Sörensen] tried to help me close the gap to Ballan."

In fourth place  but only third Italian  Rebellin was happy with
the Italian team's performance, but less so of his own, and that of some of the team's
equipment. "We had a problem with the ear pieces," he explained to
Cyclingnews, "and I could not hear very well, but I knew that we
had 50 seconds. We were in there and we had a certain guarantee  Ale [Ballan],
Damiano [Cunego] and me. I told them to give it a go on the climb, and for Ale
to try on the false flat and it went well... Today I was not very brilliant."

Andriy Grivko (Ukraine) was one of the more active riders in the closing stages,
but was unable to compete with the numerical superiority of the Italian in the
final selection. "I was the one of my team who got into the group,"
he told Cyclingnews,. "I decided to try for the sprint because I
did not feel so great; I worked for second or third position. The Italians dominated.
It is too bad for the others, but maybe they were all tired too."

German champion Fabian Wegmann finished in fifth place in the group behind
Ballan. He also found that the presence of three Italians in the closing stages
was too much for him without any teammates of his own. "It was not a pure
race of attrition, he said to Cyclingnews. "You had to attack
constantly to be in front. It was always the same riders in the moves: Ballan,
Cunego, Rebellin... they were always attacking in the last four laps and I was
always with them, too. And that's how the race ended. They were really the strongest.

"Sure, if you jump with every attack then maybe you pay for it in the
end," he continued. "For me, it didn't work out, but the seventh place
is not that bad, is it! I can be satisfied, I think."

Despite having Cunego and Rebellin not contributing to the chase, the German still tried
to catch the lone leader in the approach to the finish, but was ultimately unsuccessful.
"The last three kilometres, he said, I gave it all to bridge
up to Ballan. Even if we didn't catch him, I thought that maybe in the last
curve, I could come into a good position to finish with a medal. But the sprint
wasn't very fast, the way we came out of that curve. In the end, I ended up
seventh."

Nick Nuyens finished ninth  the best of a strong looking Belgian team.
Despite making the final selection though, he was not satisfied with the way
the finish went for himself. "I felt good on the climbs, he said.
Maybe we could have done better [than to finish ninth- ed.], but I was
still there at the right moment."

"In the sprint, I got sandwiched," continued the Belgian. "I
wasn't very well placed. Still, it doesn't really matter - finishing fifth or
ninth makes no difference. Overall, I can't be really satisfied, though."

In twelfth place  last of the front group  Thomas Lövkvist
of Sweden was exhausted after such a long race, but was satisfied with having
made the final selection of the race. "I think everybody was just really,
really tired," he said, "including me; I was completely knackered.
I got all that I could out of my legs today.

"I finished twelfth," he continued, "I maybe could have been
tenth  but not much better. I'm happy that I was at least in the front
group and that I did a good ride. I guess it was one of the best one-day races
I've ridden, because it was a tough course. You couldn't get into a rhythm -
it was just braking, cornering, and it was difficult to get any speed. The
feed-zone was also in a stupid place, and that didn't help you get any momentum."

The Spanish team had looked very strong as the race entered its closing stages,
but found themselves outnumbered by the Italians, only managing to place Joaquím
Rodriguez in the front group. This was much to the chagrin of three-time champion
Oscar Freire who had been riding for an unprecedented fifth title.

"Italy rode a good race," he said afterwards, "but we [the
Spanish team]... we were not at top level. It was important to us to not initiate
breaks, but if a break went, we had to be in it. Valverde should have been in
that group with Rebellin, Ballan and Cunego. But he wasn't.

"We did a very bad race," he continued. "Valverde should have
been in front. Cunego, Rebellin and Ballan should not have been left to jump
without him. Then, behind, nobody was pulling anymore.

"I felt good," he added, "but sometimes races are like this,
just very tactical. Today was like that. Italy was simply the best team."

Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España winner Alberto Contador could have
been a key teammate to Freire, but in the closing stages found that he didn't
have the strength today that has won him two Grand Tours this year. "The
Italians started to attack hard," he said, "and they opened up a gap.
Maybe I paid too much for my efforts. I didn't have the legs to follow at that
moment."

Despite Nuyens' ninth place and presence in the lead group, the race did not
go according to plan for the Belgian team; that is according to 2005 champion
Tom Boonen. "It was okay that Greg Van Avermaet went in the move,"
he told Cyclingnews, "but then some of our guys starting going up
one by one. In ten seconds the race was over for me. There was a [pre-race]
agreement that everyone would ride for me. These guys should not have done that.
I lost my chance for the race; if they were there we could have brought back
the move."

Tiredness was also a factor for US rider Steve Cozza, who nevertheless finished
in 23rd position, and best of a team which lacked most of the country's top riders.
"It went okay," he said to Cyclingnews. "I'm pretty f***ed.
I've never done a race so long, so I'm just glad I finished. The race was great,
though. I got in with the second group!"

France's Sylvain Chavanel had looked strong as the race approached its climax,
but found that, like many others that the Italian tactics were unstoppable and
he missed the decisive split when it came. "The Italians played it well,
he told Cyclingnews. They were the strongest today. Ballan's one
hell of a rider, who's already won some really big races. He's a great champion.
He really took advantage of some favourable circumstances today - all of the
big-names got caught out and finished with me, four minutes down.

"We should have reacted earlier," he said. "I'm a bit disappointed,
because I felt good. The tactic was to wait as long as possible, until the last
lap. But then as soon as Ballan's group went away, I knew it was all over, because
everyone was looking at each other. In the main group it was just like a lap
of honour for Bettini."

Outgoing World champion Paolo Bettini of Italy finished in the main group some
minutes later, he paid tribute to his team-mate who succeeds him in the rainbow
jersey. "We were ready to make a big fight," he said, "like we
like to do Ballan is one that seldom wins, but when he wins he selects
the right days.

"I knew that we had won," he said, "when I heard the roar of
crowds along the road  Varese exploded  I knew we had first and
second."

Bettini, in the knowledge that this was his last race, spent much of the last
lap saying his goodbyes to many of his friends in the peloton. "I enjoyed
every moment of the final kilometres," he said, "I took it all in."

Italian team director Franco Ballerini has now won the World championships in four of the seven
years since he took on the post in 2002. He played tribute to his team, and
justified his selection, which had drawn criticism as it omitted several big
names.

"We kept going forward with our strategy and we also mixed the cards,"
the two-time winner of Paris-Roubaix said of his team's race. "At the end
it worked out great. If you want to fight a war you have to have warriors
who know how to fight a war."

How it unfolded

205 riders took the start under almost unblemished blue skies in the Mapei
Cycling Stadium at the Varese hippodrome. The only rider listed as not starting
was US rider Levi Leipheimer, but he'd announced this a few days before.

The break of the day was formed on the very first of the 15 laps when Oleg
Chuzhda (Ukraine), Richard Ochoa (Venezuela) and Christian Poos (Luxembourg)
broke clear. Between them they managed to build a lead of 17:43 by the end of
lap six as the lethargic peloton allowed them their leave.

Into the seventh lap the Italian team moved to the front and began to steadily
reduce the lead, mostly through the efforts of Marzio Bruseghin.

The trio were caught with four laps to go, with Chuzhda holding out the longest,
by which time a series of attacks from a number of riders began to force a selection
in the front of the peloton.

An attack from Alessandro Ballan forced a number of splits in the
front of the fast diminishing main group. Most of the Italian and Spanish favourites
made it into this group, but there was no team taking control and a steady stream
of riders were able to join from behind.

A small group including Davide Rebellin and Damiano Cunego of Italy, and Joaquin
Rodriguez of Spain succeeded in forcing a gap with just over two laps to go.
A chase from the Belgian team ­ still working for 2005 champion Tom Boonen
­ pulled them back quickly.

As the pace increased on the penultimate lap, further attacks involving Ballan
and Rodriguez caused yet more riders to be jettisoned out of the back of the
peloton. As they took the bell a six-man group consisting of Ballan, Rodriguez,
Thomas Lövkvist (Sweden), Fabian Wegmann (Germany), Matti Breschel (Denmark)
and Greg Van Avermaet (Belgium) were 16 seconds clear of a chasing group and
28 clear of the main field containing defending Champion Paolo Bettini (Italy).

More and more riders managed to join the front group, including two Italians
Davide Rebellin and Damiano Cunego, Andriy Grivko (Ukraine), Christian Pfannberger
(Austria), Robert Gesink (Netherlands) and Nick Nuyens (Belgium). The remainder
of the peloton recognised that their race was over and sat up.

On the final climb of the Ronchi, an attack from Rebellin pulled a small group
clear that included Cunego and Ballan with Breschel, Rodriguez and Pfannberger.
After a series of unsuccessful attacks, Ballan made his move with around two
kilometres to go on the flatter section of the course in downtown Varese. With
two teammates blocking in the group he was able to quickly build a lead.

Ballan passed under the one kilometre to go banner with a seemingly unassailable
lead, but continued to ride until the finish line was in sight where he had
plenty of time to celebrate his victory. Three seconds behind him Cunego won
the sprint for the silver medal with Breschel taking third and Rebellin fourth.

Outgoing champion Paolo Bettini ­ who retires after this race ­ crossed
the line in the main pack 4:53 back celebrating his teammate's victory.